No hacking tips from me, mine is stock. I just stream all of my content which are rips from video_ts to m4v, any avi's I had I used Quicktime Pro to convert to m4v. Highly recommend the Remote app for the iPhone.

One question. My itunes asked me to set up an iTunes account. I already have 2 does the ATV need one all by it's lonesome?

Your primary iTunes account should work. I mean, it doesn't need one of its own.

I finally got it all sorted. I'm really diggin' the ATV. The wife likes it too! That's like a license to spend money in my house!

At first my wife was like "why do we need it," but now she loves the thing being able to rent movies and listen to music. She really likes that apple finally allows us to view the photos individually and not just through the slideshow feature.

I just got my ATV and that was the first thing she said. I'm still in the "convincing" stage. I love the ability to stream my Music over the air and the quality is really quite good.

However, over my WiFi "G" network, trying to even PREVIEW a movie is ridiculous. For a 3 minute trailer, it takes probably 9 or 10 minutes to load and start. Also, I don't like the fact that my Mini has to be "on" with iTunes running to stream music. I typically put the Mini to sleep after 30 minutes or so of inactivity, so it's just a bit of a letdown when I try to stream music or something and the Mini is sleeping. I don't really want to leave it on all of the time.

What's more troubling, though, is the time it takes to load a movie preview. Music previews seem to start immediately - movies do not. I'm trying to justify the existence of the thing in my living room, but taking so long to preview (much less RENT) a movie is not helping my cause. It probably has a lot to do with my WiFi and DSL speed, but still...

I'm assuming that connecting via Ethernet cable would be much faster, but it's not an option right now without a major cable-run project.

I just got my ATV and that was the first thing she said. I'm still in the "convincing" stage. I love the ability to stream my Music over the air and the quality is really quite good.

However, over my WiFi "G" network, trying to even PREVIEW a movie is ridiculous. For a 3 minute trailer, it takes probably 9 or 10 minutes to load and start. Also, I don't like the fact that my Mini has to be "on" with iTunes running to stream music. I typically put the Mini to sleep after 30 minutes or so of inactivity, so it's just a bit of a letdown when I try to stream music or something and the Mini is sleeping. I don't really want to leave it on all of the time.

What's more troubling, though, is the time it takes to load a movie preview. Music previews seem to start immediately - movies do not. I'm trying to justify the existence of the thing in my living room, but taking so long to preview (much less RENT) a movie is not helping my cause. It probably has a lot to do with my WiFi and DSL speed, but still...

I'm assuming that connecting via Ethernet cable would be much faster, but it's not an option right now without a major cable-run project.

UpNorth, I feel your pain, however, I'd would suggest taking the time to run the CAT5e cables you need and buying a 10/100/1000 switch if needed. My movie previews and movie streaming as well as music all happen instantly! No lag even if I'm streaming a movie with AC3 surround! It will be worth the headache and pain, what's better, your wife will certainly be "sold" at that point!

... I'd would suggest taking the time to run the CAT5e cables...Good luck!

I was afraid you would say that. Ugggg...

I'm on a G network and my previews are pretty much instant. SD rentals are instant to a few seconds, and sometimes HD rentals start within 30 sec to a minute. So I would say maybe it has to do with your internet provider, or you have a very weak signal going to the apple tv.

... I'd would suggest taking the time to run the CAT5e cables...Good luck!

I was afraid you would say that. Ugggg...

I'm on a G network and my previews are pretty much instant. SD rentals are instant to a few seconds, and sometimes HD rentals start within 30 sec to a minute. So I would say maybe it has to do with your internet provider, or you have a very weak signal going to the apple tv.

... I'd would suggest taking the time to run the CAT5e cables...Good luck!

I was afraid you would say that. Ugggg...

I'm on a G network and my previews are pretty much instant. SD rentals are instant to a few seconds, and sometimes HD rentals start within 30 sec to a minute. So I would say maybe it has to do with your internet provider, or you have a very weak signal going to the apple tv.

I actually "borrowed" a 50ft. Cat6 cable and plugged the thing in - same thing. Slow City! What a bummer! I'm thinking it must be my connection, which is DSL (300K download, I think?) and not Cable. I think that when I had a Cable Modem in the past, the download speed was a bit faster compared to DSL.

This sucks, though, because I LOVE the music streaming into the Living Room, and a couple of the other features, but it seriously takes almost 10 minutes to play a SD trailer. That just kind of makes the whole thing a big buzz kill.....especially when I'm trying to "sell" the idea of having it at all!